Jun 19, 2009  |  By: Staff & Wire Reports  | COMMENTS     

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Organizers say this year’s Capital City Pride event in Des Moines drew a record crowd of some 15,000 participants from throughout the Midwest.

Many participants in Sunday’s event in the East Village neighborhood were celebrating the Iowa Supreme Court decision that made same-sex marriage legal in the state. The ruling in April makes Iowa one of six states that allows gays and lesbians to marry.

The parade was the first since 2007. Last year’s event was canceled because of the flooding that hit Iowa.